Rights group slams Thailand's Lao refugee return

BANGKOK, Dec 22, 2011 (AFP) - A leading rights group on Thursday criticised Thailand's “callous disregard” for human rights after it handed a registered refugee back to officials in Laos despite fears of persecution on his return. Ka Yang and his family, of the Hmong ethnic group, were forcibly handed over at the Thai-Laos border on Saturday despite United Nations recognition of his refugee status, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a statement. He was one of 158 registered Hmong refugees who were forcibly repatriated by Thai troops in December 2009, along with more than 4,000 others whose needs for international protection the UN was never allowed to assess. Thailand said the group were economic migrants but the mass deportation sparked global outrage for violating international refugee law. Ka Yang subsequently fled Laos and returned to Thailand, HRW said, where he was detained with his family earlier this year at Bangkok's immigration centre. A senior immigration policeman in the Thai capital denied they were aware of the refugee status of Ka Yang, who was repatriated at the same time as more than 50 Laotians accused of illegal entry. The Hmong group's fear of retribution from the Laotian regime is a lingering remnant of the Vietnam War, when members of the ethnic hill tribe fought in a US-funded irregular army as the conflict spilled into Laos. The return of the refugee, who has been accepted for resettlement in the United States, went against the requests of the US embassy and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, HRW said. “The Thai government has shown callous disregard for the most basic right of refugees not to be returned to face persecution,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of the rights group. “By twice returning Ka Yang to Laos, which has long mistreated its Hmong population, Thailand is saying it cares little about protecting refugees and respecting their basic rights.”The group has been been unable to establish the location of Ka Yang and his family in Laos.